REVIEW – TYCOON by Katy Evans

He wasn’t always this rich. This hot. This difficult.
Aaric Christos was a guy who protected me. Wanted me. Maybe even loved me.
That man is gone.
In his place is the most powerful real estate tycoon in the city.
He’s a cold, ruthless, aggressive businessman.
The only one who can save me and my startup from ruin.
It takes every ounce of courage to put my pride aside and ask for his help.
I didn’t expect him to offer it easily.
And he doesn’t.
Instead, he vets me harder than he’s vetted anyone.
Don’t invest in what you don’t know, he says.
He’s assessing every piece of me, to the point I’ve never felt so bare.
I yearn for the boy I once knew, whose touch once craved me.
Putting it all on the line will be worth it, I tell myself.
Until I realize—too late—that some risks are not worth taking.

*****Mel’s Review*****

5 Stars!

-“There’s always been a you and I. Except only you and I know it. Only you and I know all the touches that never happened. All the kisses we never took. All the damned dances I didn’t dance with you.”

Bryn Kelly is a gorgeous single thirty-year-old woman who moved to New York about six weeks ago to follow her dream. She has a business plan, but can’t get her project off the ground without help. She’s looking for money for her startup & her friend scores her a meeting with the most powerful investor in the city. It’s her last chance to convince someone to fund her idea.

Her meeting is with the hot shot, wealthy real estate tycoon, Aaric Christos. Bryn & Aaric went to high school together, & she hasn’t seen him in twelve years since he left Austin. She wasn’t sure if he’d even remember her after all this time. Years ago he had wanted her, but she was too afraid to get hurt. He was always a bit of a bad boy & a lot to handle. His fire always shined a little brighter than the rest. He was hardworking and hot-as-sin. She had her chance but just wasn’t ready for him. It was her fault they never got together & she regretted it.

Bryn comes face to face with the boy from her past who was always a little rough around the edges. The boy she once knew is long gone. What she’s looking at now is all man. He’s a polished, filthy rich, extremely influential man living in luxury on Park Avenue. He’s absolutely stunning & she’d give anything for him to want her again like he once did. She’s so impressed by the man Aaric has become. He’s known to sometimes invest in startups, so she hopes he will take a risk on her.

Aaric can’t believe the girl he was crazy about all those years ago is standing in front of him. He’s always had this instinct to protect her, & care for her. He wants to help her but decides to make her work hard for it while he vets her. The more time they spend together, the more desperate he is for her. The sexual tension keeps building till their both about to explode if they don’t touch one another.

-I want all of this man.

-It’s an obsession, an addiction, a complete infatuation.

-There’s an odd little tug from his body to mine as if there’s a force trying to lure me closer to him, a magnetism in him that’s primal and animalistic.

-I want everything this guy can give me. Things no one in my life has ever given me. Forbidden things that scare me, thrill me, churn a crazy wildfire inside me.

-There are the kinds of things that you don’t choose- they just happen, sometimes with people you don’t want to react to as fiercely as you do. Christos has always been mine. My what if, and also my why him. Right now he’s the center of my universe. His nearness all I know.

Bryn fell for Aaric when she was 17 & has been fantasizing about him for years. He’s a reminder of her childhood, and of everything she once loved & lost. Could she finally get a second chance to make things right & be with him, or will outside forces get in the way.

I loved Aaric Christos. He never forgot the one that got away. After all that time, he still held a place in his heart for his Bryn. This was a beautiful story about second chances & following your heart.

*****Patty’s Review*****

*****FOUR STARS*****
{ARC Generously Provided by Author}

”I wanted you before. That doesn’t hold a candle to the way I want you now.”He takes my shoulders, looking at me.”I’ll try to be patient. I didn’t have time before, but I do now,”he continues.”But you’re something I’ve wanted for a very long time, Bryn, and I’m only human.”

Katy Evans is one of those authors that evoke feelings of anxiety whenever I hear she has a new book coming out. I mean this as a very HUGEcompliment! The waiting is what kills me and the fear that maybe I won’t get approved for an advanced reader copy!! The struggle is real my friends!! She has this gift for creating some of the sexiest alpha male Heroes who instantly steal my heart. I know that when I read one of Katy’s stories that I am going to be swept off my feet by an exhilarating romance! TYCOON is a story about two High School friends who get a second chance at true love. We will be traveling from past to present quite often throughout the book to help us feel the deep connection between the Hero and Heroine that even twelve years of separation couldn’t destroy. Ladies be prepared to fall head over heels for Aaric Christos!!

Aaric and Bryn were the best of friends during High School but always beneath the surface was a deep attraction between the two. They never acted upon their desires for very different reasons. Bryn knew that there was something truly special about Aaric and her greatest fear was that she would lose him if they moved passed friendship because she wasn’t certain that a romantic relationship would last between them. Aaric was enamored with Bryn from the moment he laid eyes on her, but he always felt that he wasn’t good enough for her at that time. He was just a mechanic and he thought she deserved so much more than he could ever give her. It was what motivated him to work hard to become one of the most successful businessmen in New York City years later. Towards the end of High School, Aaric moves away with his family and it will be nearly twelve years till the two cross paths again.

Bryn has suffered great loss in recent years. Her parents tragically died in a building fire and the department store that the family once owned has been sold. Bryn moves to New York City in hopes to start a new chapter in her life but she’s nearly broke and doing odd jobs to get by. She does have a passion for clothing design and has a plan to start her own business, but she needs financial backing. As luck would have it, Aaric has expressed interest in her potential business venture. When the two meet after having lost touch for so long, the chemistry is undeniable. You can feel the sizzle coming off of the pages. Aaric has a sexy and commanding presence and Bryn can’t help but feel light-headed and weak in the knees whenever she’s in a room with him. Their initial encounters are flirtatious and there’s no denying the heat these two generate when they’re together.

Aaric doesn’t jump into a business venture with Bryn too quickly. He makes her work for it. He knows she has potential to do great things and he wants her to think of the big picture and come up with a plan to make her clothing line stand out from all the rest. As they start to develop their business relationship, there seems to be no way of denying the passion that is building between them as well.

Bryn is once again afraid that if they become romantically involved that she will inevitably lose Aaric and their business deal will also be ruined. She’s already lost two very important people and she knows she will not survive it if she were to lose Aaric as well. But he let her get away once and he has no intentions of doing that again. His feelings for her have intensified and he is determined to get what he wants.

Will they be able to get it right this second time around or will past mistakes repeat themselves?